Empire
by Lady Zahara
Summary: Phunk, Akia, Furon, and Irk, four empires who still recover from the previous war. Only one can rule the universe, so they have all decided to civilly settle the ancient grudge through a competition. But just how civil is it? -AU, Invader Zim, past lives-
1. It Started with the Girl from the Stars

Prologue: In a world that seemed as though it was a dream, a young girl fell from the sky like a lost star. With beautiful green skin and eyes that gleamed like rubies she was seen as a fairy like child, unwanted by the Earth's inhabitants. One boy alone showed her a scrap of kindness. He would bend at each of her desires giving her all that both thought she rightfully deserved. The young princess enjoyed staying in the strange world with the boy. Never before had a single being shown her such undying devotion. He had given her a handmade circlet the most flattering gift she had received. Unfortunately she had to leave it behind when her people came to take her back. She was not of that world and no madder how she pleaded, she wasn't allowed to stay or say good bye to the kind boy.

Chapter 1:

Furon Empire, Planet: Earth

The boy sat in the cleared woods, his friend was gone. The only friend he had ever had, as an orphan very little had been given to him. Even the place he stayed came with the price of grueling hard labor. How he missed her, he held her circlet close. It was so painful to be alone again, he didn't like it. He didn't want a world where she wasn't in it. His gold eye sparkled with tears; it felt like the world around him was tearing apart. Lost in his own sorrow he couldn't see that the trees around him were being torn by an invisible force. A shuddered sigh from the boy covered up the footsteps of the stranger that was slowly approaching. The stranger tapped the back of the boy's head and the boy fell unconscious.

"I'm sorry Zod," The old man spoke, "but it would be better for you to forget. He took the sleeping boy onto his strange vessel. The boys stirred at the sounds of arguing.

Somewhere in a ship in deep space

"How could you do this dad!" A purple haired girl shrieked. "I am a far better warrior than he'll ever be! I have been training for the competition my whole life and you just bring him out of nowhere and say that I'm not qualified anymore! He doesn't even know how to fight!"

"Now Gina, I know you're upset," her father soothed, "but he is my sister's son. He has to be our champion by law. That is why you will teach him how to fight. We need to win over the Phunk."

"What are you talking about?" Zod groaned, "Where am I."

"Looks like jerk wad woke up," Gina sneered.

"Gina! Be nice to your cousin!" The old man reprimanded. "I assume it's my job to explain what exactly we have gotten you into." He pulled out a map of the stars. Earth was at the very center and had a blue symbol on it. Other planets had similar blue marks, pink marks, red marks, or purple marks. "These are the four empires of the universe, each one has a specialty. What you need to know the most is that the Akia Empire," he pointed to the purple area on the map, "was once our ally in the civil war. You see our empire, the Furon Empire, separated from the Irken Empire. It was a civil war that was divided into two groups, people who like us wanted to gain planets trough treaty and breeding and people who wanted to gain planets through force. The heart of our empire is your planet, planet Earth. All of our people have human DNA in them, that is where you get all of your legends of monsters."

"Why didn't I know about this before?" Zod inquired.

"Our empire has tried to keep the two civilizations separate for cultural reasons. We have already tampered with human cuture and we don't want to forget our own. The 'beasts' some humans found were just some of the hybrids that have been caught hiding on Earth. The planet is used as a compass rose, thusly our Empire is East. All other people have steered clear of this planet because of the fearsome hybrids that have come out of it. The humans are… very adaptable unlike other races, any part of them will alter for whatever condition they are in. Well almost any part." Zod crossed his legs at the comment.

"What does this have to do with me?" Zod asked.

"In good time Zod, in good time. During the War the Phunk Empire tried to create a powerful source of energy that would given any being who consumed it tremendous power. I the process of making it however, they accidently created a deadly virus know as the Elidon virus. Irk wants to use the successful Abyss serum as a weapon, while Akia wants to use it in hopes to create a cure. The Phunk go where ever the serum goes, so we want it to make sure that the Furon Empire does not become all human and we forget our origins like you have."

"I don't understand, I'm human."

"Not exactly. You see your mother, Godiva, was half Irken. But right now we need to focus at the task at hand. A competition will be held to determine which Empire will absorb the dying Phunk Empire and thus the Abyss serum. Champions are chosen by strength and political status. You are the son of my sister the leader of the Furon Empire before the war, and also have lots of natural strength."

"That's another way of saying you are the closest to a pure blood Irken we have in the entire Empire and you're only a fourth. We are close to being breaded out by the humans so you are the only one who can keep up with the other aliens. I would go but you out rank me in breading by one eighth." Gina snarled.

"So you need to have me as your champion?" Zod asked, "I'll have to train as soon as possible right?"

"I hope you learn how to fight as fast as you understood your position." The old man smiled, Gina huffed and stormed down the hall. Zod shook his head. As much as fighting aliens on foreign planets seemed dangerous and deadly, it had to be better than working at the Inn. The fat inn keeper had been horrible to him, he had been hurt on multiple occasions for doing… something. He couldn't remember what he had done to deserve the punishments any more. That was the least of his problems. He would be spending the foreseeable future with a trained warrior who obviously had a chip in her shoulder when he was around. That still seemed better than caring boiling buckets of water in the dark of night.

**AN: I thank all of you who have supported my fics and the Russian Roulette comic on DA. It really means a lot to me that you all have been so patient. If you have any questions feel free to ask me, this story gets a little complicated with all the characters, the four empires, and the war that previously happened in the story. Thank you once again, and I will update next Saturday.**


	2. The Frozen Empire

Akian Empire, Planet Brod 

The world was blindingly white as the young alien trudged through the snow, his lavender wings pressed closely to his body for warmth. After living here for seventeen years you'd think one would get used to the fall blizzards. His boots clunked on something solid, one more step and he would have smacked right into the door. A thickly gloved hand scrambled for the handle of the large building. It was times like this that he wondered why the house was painted white. As a small child he had been told that the buildings were made of solid ice, but later discover it was merely painted bricks. The wood door swung open with little grace. Mika sighed, he hated taking out the garbage.

"Don't close that door Mika!" His younger sister called, "You're just going to have to open it again."

" Oh." Mika chortled, "Why's that Beryl? Do you have to get new boots or something?"

"Haha." Beryl said dryly, "Not quite, the counsel summoned you." Mika's eyes widened.

"Really? This is fantastic! I gotta' go!" Mika tightened his fur head band and turned right back out the door running do fast that he forgot to close the door behind him.

"Wait! I thought that was a bad thing!" Beryl sighed as she struggled to close the door. "Stupid brother," she grumbled.  
Mika ran through the soft ice towards the towering white. He could distinguish the decorative towers from the rest of the swirling white, but the ominous blue glow of the torches told him the direction he needed to go. He had been waiting for this day his whole life; the counsel was getting the information on who was the champion for Akia. He was one of the strongest fighters and could use illusion magic, a talent that hadn't been seen for years. He pushed the Ivory doors open and stepped into the warmly colored room. The heavy doors closed behind him slamming shut to alert the others of his arrival. An old man all in grey came to the front, his silvery hair reached to his green finger tips. His smoky eyes studied the teen in front of him, his feathered wings dragged behind him.

"Saxon will see you." Mika brightened even more, Saxon was the ruler of Akia, which had to mean good news. He entered the room to see a mangy blue haired boy and a tall dark haired woman, both with bat like wings. Wings usually showed the nature of an Akian, Saxon had been the first Bat winged ruler of Akia and was thusly entirely feared and respected. She had ruled them with an iron fist and commands that stood stronger than stone. Despite the cold of the Northern planets her robes where hardly suited for the cold whether suggesting that she never set foot outside. The fiercely violet haired leader turned to face Mika and the other guest.

"Glad to see that you have both made it," She gave a deadly smirk, "I trust you had no issues arriving." The two nodded vigorously. "Good, now I'm sure our little chat is not why you came out here so I'll get straight to the point. Kail, you will be our champion." The blue haired boy restrained a growl and nodded. Mika couldn't believe his ears, not only was he not going to be the champion, but a criminal was. Kail had been locked away after killing his own family and their friends. He was sentenced to live the rest of his life in a jail cell, yet there he was going to represent all of Akia. Kail stood up and left the room taking some form of facial cue from Saxon. Mika looked around and noticed he was now alone with his leader.

"May I ask why?" Mika said while bowing. The dictator turned to look at the lavender haired boy his long locks now hid his face.

"Oh, I know he will try harder than any other Akian." She said as if it was no big deal.

"But I know I could do better than him!" Mika exclaimed, and then covered his mouth. No one had ever spoken that way to a leader, ever. It just simply wasn't done. Even still, Saxon took it in good humor.

"I know this as well," she said coolly, "that is why you are not going as well. You see Kail has been given the simple task to make sure our empire succeeds. You however have been given the delicate task to make sure that Irk looses. Kail is strong enough to hack and slash his way past Phunk and Furon, but Irk was made for things like these. No doubt they will decide on the most capable invader to do the job. After all it's not like they would willingly put the tallest in jeopardy." Mika swallowed as he watched Saxon circle him like prey. "So what I need you to do is disguise yourself as an Irken. It shouldn't be too hard just a simple hair cut and a wing binding and all you'll have to do is disguise your clothes and make it look like you have those antenna things that I believe are referred to as lleku and you're good to go. Once there you can infiltrate the system and choose the dumbest, most corruptible Irken you can find and the Abyss serum is as good as ours"

"Isn't that cheating?"

"Oh and you think that the other empires are going to play fairly?" Saxon sneered, "I'm merely using their own tactics against them. So are you willing to accept the mission?" Mika gulped, he had no real choice in the matter. Mika nodded. "Good, so I suggest that you go get ready to leave. That well you'll have ample time to infiltrate Irk and make sure they don't win the Abyss serum." Mika left the room; this was so much at once. There was no way he could fail this task, if he did than he would never be allowed to return.


	3. Zane's Revenge

Irken Empire, Planet: Eyro

Six years later

A young Irken of about fifteen ran through the streets. She was late for her second job, as she hurriedly opened the doors of the Twin Tails Café she heard a thump. Zane looked to the floor at the person she had accidently knocked to the ground. A young Irken boy a little younger than her laid sprawled on the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" she offered a hand, "Are you O.K?" The shocked boy looked up with swirled mint eyes. He got up in a rush.

"No problem Zane, I wasn't watching where I was going." He scooped himself off the ground, "I'm fine really. My shifts over anyway." Zane nodded at the boy's sad smile. She always felt sorry for him. On Irk common eye colors were reds, oranges, and pinks like her own. Those who had different eye colors usually had a different Empire's blood running through their veins. When she asked him about it he said it was because his father was from the Phunk Empire where people with green, yellow, aqua, or black eyes were more common. Apparently on Phunk if eyes speckled with another color were considered extremely rare and beautiful. Zane sighed, having black hair herself instead of magenta she understood what it was like to be considered strange. Although she hadn't had as much trouble as he had finding a job, she still had personal issues.

She put on the Twin Tails uniform as she prepared for work. She lived with an Irken named Ember, who had the fieriest red eyes she had ever seen. It was a shame that he had to wear an eye patch to cover what she assumed was a wound. Any time she tried to approach the subject he always became silent or changed to subject. Even though he demanded the most expensive apartment on planet and was hardly ever around anymore, Zane happily worked so that he could be happy. As an invader he was always held in high respect, but that was not why she adored him. A long time ago she had fallen of one of the ships. He had saved her from the fall and gave her medical attention. He even told her who she was when she couldn't remember anything that had happened before the fall. He was her hero, her knight in shining armor and he was slowly working his way to becoming the next tallest. It was her dream that once all of his dreams were fulfilled that they would live happily ever after like all of the old stories she had heard as a child.

It was late when she finally was allowed to make a special delivery to Ember's work place. Working at a restaurant had its perks; she was the only one that could get past the guards to see Ember at work. She came down the hall quietly so she could surprise Ember with the meal. That was until she heard voices.

"Why do you even bother?" an elite soldier asked, "She works her butt off, and all you ever do is stay the night here."

"Will you stop?" Ember yawned, "it's not like she's my girlfriend or anything. We don't even have anything in common."

"That's terrible; you make it sound like she's some toy that you wind up to do chores and such."

"Well yeah, she pretty much is," Ember stated, "she didn't have to stay with me. It was all her choice, honestly I don't even like her. She could leave the next day and I probably wouldn't even notice that she left." Zane felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. She trembled as she threw the boxed dinner at Ember's head. The two soldiers jumped, startled by the sudden interruption in their conversation. Zane's head hung low making small inaudible sounds. "No, don't cry." Ember sighed, exasperated by the Irken girl's trembles. Everything she had known had been ripped right out from under her feet. All the years of self sacrifice had been for nothing. She could of gone to an academy and got a better job, or left behind the expensive apartment she had rented for him and gottn stuff for herself. But no she had to be a selfless, naïve little girl about the matter. What else had she blinded herself from inorder to justicfy the reasons for giving everything to him.

"Mh… Mmhhahahahahaha! Bwahahahahaha!" Zane looked up laughing hysterically an evil look in her eyes. How dare he stomp on her heart like it was nothing! Oh he would pay. The two soldiers stepped back in fear at the bizarre reaction. Zane could feel her heart shift as all the affection towards Ember turned to blindingly unconditional loathing and hate. "How dare you toy with my life! I will have my revenge!" Two guards came up behind Zane and picked her up. "Hey! Let me go! Don't you touch me!"

"You want revenge Zane?" Ember scoffed as they carted her off, "Then be an invader." Zane was dumped unceremoniously outside the building.

"Fine then, if that's how this is going to be, then I'll be the best there is!" Zane stood up and brushed herself off. She walked over to another building; it was decorated with twisting metallic structures of green and blue. Zane took a deep breath; this was the only other invasion recruit station on planet. If she couldn't get a job here, she wouldn't stand a chance. She took a deep breath and opened the crystalline doors. A small Irken sat at the main desk flipping through various papers. "I'd like to get a job." Zane said timidly, the desk drone hummed in reply.

"You and half of all Irk would." He said and continued sorting the documents.

"Look, I demand that you tell me who I need to contact to become a part of your job chain thing."

"Uh hunh?" The desk worker said skeptically, "Well in that case, HEY!" He shouted waving over a purple haired Irken. "This brat won't leave me alone, keeps asking for a job. Maybe you know where to stick her." The Irken growled.

"Fine." Said the purple haired Irken, "This way." The two sat down. "I hope you realize this is my lunch break you're intruding on."

"I apologize…"

"Mika." The Irken sighed, "You can call me Mika. So are you interested in being an invader."

"Not really, I'm a bit of a klutz." Zane said sheepishly.

"O.K. What about weapons design?"

"I never graduated from an academy."

"Is that so…" Mika said unimpressed.

"Is there anything else?"

"Well you could be a negotiator."

"Great I'll take it." Zane went to go run off.

"But you need an education first." Mika said as he grabbed her arm.

"Is that really necessary, I am very smart." Zane pleaded

"No." Mika said firmly.

"You have to give me a job." Zane growled.

"If I said no the first time what makes you think I'll say yes the second time?" Mika asked shaking his head.

"Nothing, but you might say yes the 3,690th time." A large creepy smile crossed over Zane's face, it sent shivers down Mika's back.

"…I'll see what I can do, but there's an audition for a very important mission and it's only in a few hours."

"Great I'll be there." Mika sat back, he didn't expect this new girl to be so energetically persistent. He had to keep an eye on her, after all he didn't want anything to go wrong with his mission.

**AN: Finally the plot takes off. Thank you for all of your silent support of my fiction. I have a few chapters cued up so that I'll update by the week for at least a month. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Public praise to P3PSll and fairychix26 for the favorite and alert. If you have any questions about the characters, the world, and their relation to the cannoness that is IZ feel free to ask. I'll answer you to the best of my ability without giving away spoilers.  
**


	4. Partners

Irken Empire, Planet: Eyro

A whole line of brilliant Invaders and other talented young Irkens stood waiting for the audition. Zane fell into neither of these categories, all that mattered was that it was important and she needed to be more important than Ember.

"First is the physical examination." Drawled a particularly short Irken, various other hopefuls lifted heavy weights or kicked through stone to display their natural strength. Then it was Zane's turn. "What's your name and what will you be doing."

"I'm Zane, and I'll be doing… uhh…" Zane thought, "Oh I know." Zane began to slide and her legs lay flat against the floor. She lay down on her back and use her shoulders to become vertical and then did a hand spring back onto her feet. "Was that expectable?" The other judges muttered amongst themselves while Mika gapped.

"Yes... NEXT!" Zane had made it to the next round along with two other people.

"Now," The leader said, "I want you each of you to respond to the following audio." He gave the devise to the first girl in line. She faltered not sure what exactly to do. Then it was passed to the next girl.

"I don't know what to say!" She squealed, "Thank you so much." She passed the device down to Zane. Zane held it to her lleku and a male voice sounded from in it.

"I'm sorry I was so rotten to you, I should have known better. You were right all along and I just couldn't see how much you cared. Please give me another chance." Zane twitched at the words, it reminded her all too much of the reason she was here.

"Yes, I will." She said with a smile. "IS THAT WHAT YOU WERE EXPECTING YOU JACKASS! DO YOU THINK THAT AFTER ALL THE HARD WORK I PUT IN THAT A SIMPLE WHINY PHONE CALL WILL FIX EVERYTHING! YOU ARE SUCH A COWARD! IF YOU REALLY WANT MY FORGIVENESS THAT BADLY YOU'LL BEG FOR IT IN PERSON!" She hurled the electronic across the room angrily. Suddenly she snapped out of her own mind. "Oh, I threw the phone. I-I'll go get." Mika hid his face, this was a disaster, but the head of the audition was grinning like mad.

"Zane will you come over here please?" Zane nodded and followed him into another room. In it was a beautiful dress and slippers. The dress's fabric gave has opaque flowers along it and the dress was full of ruffles. The long pink sleeves were trimmed with black feathers as well as the body of the dress. A black front went down the length of the dress farmed by the satiny pink fabric. "Will you try this on? The servant will help you." Zane nodded utterly confused, but complied regardless. When she was done she stepped out, her black hair had been pulled back loosely. The dress fit perfectly, complementing her thin figure. Her eyes had pink pigment rubbed above it. Mika looked up at the girl.

"Who she looks like-"

"A princess." The leader said finishing Mika's sentence. "As you know, Irk hasn't been ruled by a royal family for a long time. It was a… flawed system. Now the tallest Irkens rule the empire. The rest of the universe however does not know this. This is why we needed someone to pretend to be the princess for the competition." Mika looked at the tall maroon Irken and smiled.

"Congratulation Zane, You are Irk's representative!" Mika cheered. "You'll need someone to train you, and more than one dress that's for sure."

"Mika," The leader asked the hyper 'Irken', "would you like to be in charge of the representative?"

"Well… Yes, yes I would!" Mika couldn't believe it everything was just falling into his lap. With someone as obsessed as Zane it would be easy to convince her to fail or have her focused on something else! He already had a plan forming. He could get her to become friends with Kail and he would do all the rest. "Come on Zane, our first lesson begins now."

Zane looked up at the taller purple eyed Irken. She couldn't believe it, her plan was working. She took one last glance in the mirror. She really did look like a princess, even if the dress was uncomfortable and in the way it was worth it for the impression it gave. Who she was trying to impress still bothered her. A week ago she would have died for a chance to show off for Ember, to have her ogle her and treat her like royalty. Well it was just too bad for him, he missed his chance and now he would pay for treating her like an ungrateful servant. Just a few more hurdles to clear and revenge would be her's. She could her Ember groveling now!

Else Where in the Building

"PLEASE RECONSIDER!" Ember wailed.

"It cannot be helped Ember, you're not the only one qualified you know." Sighed an old manager.

"But a partner! I don't need anyone's help and I certainly do not need a dumb co-Tallest following me around for the duration of the completion!"

"Look I don't make the rules, O.K. Besides, he knows more about the enemy planets then you do. I'm sure you'll get along fine."

"I don't want to get along; I want to rule the country! I can't have some idiot make a mistake and loose the Abyss serum!"

"Will you relax? You're acting like it's the end of the world when all it is, is someone else taking some of the responsibility."

"But I want the responsibility! I can do it all by myself!"

"Oh yeah who are we fighting during the competition."

"Akia, duh." Ember smirked crossing his arms.

"And…" The manager said blandly.

"What do you mean and?" Asked Ember confused.

"Who else are we fighting?"

"…who else?" Ember asked sheepishly. "Well there's… uhh… there's… you know I'll bet my new partner will know! What was his name again?"

"That's the spirit. Oh, his name's Mika." The manager smiled.

"Mika hunh? I bet he's just a study bug."


	5. Phunk Empire

Irken Empire, Planet: Eyro

Mika was incredibly impressed with Zane's performance. She was graceful, proper, and strong all the qualities necessary for a princess. At the same time she was vain, angry, and obsessed with revenge to the point of insanity. She was almost ready for the competition.

"Hey Zane," Mika said entering the room, "we're going to go off the planet soon. From this moment on people will be referring to you as Zahara."

"Why?" Zane asked turning to face Mika. As the appointed princess of Irk she was now subjected to look and act like someone who lived the life of luxury. That in itself was hard to get used to.

"It's the formal title given to our female leaders."

"Wasn't that the Almighty Tallest?"

"That's what it is now, but royalty uses the titles Zahara and Demeter. So pack up Zahara, we are going to leave soon."

"Where are we going anyway?"

"We are going to the Phunk Empire. They have an old transporter, but no ships so we have offered to give their champion a ride. That way we'll know more about the enemy."

"Won't it work both ways? Besides isn't letting the enemies on our ship is just dumb?"

"I know," Mika sighed, "but it wasn't my idea. Personally I wouldn't want to go on an enemy planet either. I didn't get this job by being opinionated though, that's your job. " Mika walked out of Zane's private room and went to his own office. Only in it was a soldier in red armor with a battle axe strapped onto his back. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Actually, you can." He said and tossed Mika a black tunic and purple leggings. "That's your new uniform. The gloves and boots are on your desk. Get changed before we leave." The soldier began to walkout.

"I'm sorry," Mika said, "but who are you?" the boy turned.

"You don't know who the greatest invader in all of Irk is!" he asked in disbelief. When Mika still didn't seem to recognize him he elaborated. "I'm Ember. Your new partner." He left the office. Mika looked at the closed door a grin crossed his face.

"So that's Ember." He looked at the new uniform and held up the purple leggings. "These… how do these people think that this is a pair of pants?" Mika grumped. He waved two long fingers and a thick purple mist surrounded him, when it cleared a copy of the uniform was on his body, he glared at the boots. "They wear heals too? Have they no dignity?" He shoved the rejected uniform into his bag along with his back up wing strap that how used to flatten the feathery appendages. He stepped out of his own office and saw Zane dragging a chain of luggage towards the ship.

"Zahara!" Mika reprimanded, "What did I tell you about that!" Mika took the chain and gave it to a random soldier. "You take this to the massive! Zahara, no manual labor!" Zane grumbled at this, she hated being a useless lump. She couldn't wait to get to planet Sham where the completion would take place so she could do something. At least there she would take place so she could do something. At least there she would be treated like a princess.

The three boarded the Massive. Zane was nervous, Ember was looking right at her and he didn't say anything.

"Hey who's the kid?" Ember asked pointing at Zane, Mika held back a laugh.

"This is Zahara, our representative." Zane froze, he didn't know who she was? Sure she was in a summer ball gown and her eyes had pink powder dusted over them, but that was no reason to not recognize her.

"Oh, O.K. as long as she wins." Ember said.

Phunk Empire, Planet: Adel

Ember and Mika stepped off the rickety gold teleporter. They were instantly surrounded by lush tropical greenery. Even the flowers that hung from the trees were rich green. It was amazing that such a tropical environment could flourish out of the stiffly packed ground.

"Hello my tallest." Said a light hearted voice. The two turned to face an average Irken soldier.

"Jaz!" Ember shouted, "I thought they ate your feet or something."

"No, no you guys were just too far out of range to receive my calls. The Phunk completely trust us and are willing to let their representative ride on the massive. I think you'll like her."

"Who knew the Phunk would agree to something willingly?"

"I did," Mika panted, 'I am head of negotiations, There is a lot you don't know."

"What's wrong with you?"

"It's really hot here."

"What are you talking about? It's only about ninety degrees."

"Ninety! And you think something's wrong with me?" Mika said already sweating in the heat, Zane followed silently behind. They walked into the village that seemed to thrive out of old stone buildings. A tall granite temple towered over the center square, multiple gears jutted out of the sides of the buildings. A steady rumble of machinery made it seem like the buildings had a synchronized heart beat. Ember looked around at the old buildings.

"How could any Irken fall in love with something that came from this?" he asked.

"The Phunk are farther along than us technologically speaking and are very attractive." Jaz supplied.

"They probably stole the technology for their butt ugly selves." Ember huffed. Jaz shook his head and they entered town square. The temple doors opened seemingly by themselves and a tall woman stepped out; her simple white dress was knee length in the front and dragged along the ground behind her. Her eyes seemed like windows into the night sky stars and all, her long black hair was tied into a loose pony tail that hung over her shoulder. The only thing that made her different from the Irken other that her speckled eyes was her large wings. They shimmered in the sun covered with millions of feathery scales of a multitude of colors, the rainbow canvas put a monarch's wings to shame.

"Hello," she said in a mellow tone, "I'm a Lady Ashean."


	6. Princess From the Sun

Phunk Empire, Planet: Adel

Ember stood in awe of the Phunk's leader. All the questions he had previously had been erased in her presence.

"So this is the Phunk representative." Mika chocked out, he seemed to sag with every breath. The heat was taking its toll on him, yet Ember insisted that they stayed there… in the sun.

"Actually no, I am not." Lady Ashean smiled. Ember's temper flared in response.

"What do you mean no?" he growled, "By law you're required to show up!"

"I understand that royalty must compete if physically capable, I however am not." All four Irkens looked confused. "You see I'm with smeet." Ashean elaborated.

"Sm-smeet!" Jaz said horrified before fainting. A short, blond Phunk girl ran up.

"He's probably fainted due to the heat… I'll get him out of the sun." she said.

"Did you hear that?" Mika snarled, "If I stay out any longer I will die of heat stroke! And if that happens, I'm taking you with me!" Ember began to panic, the combination of the heat and Mika's nasty tone made a terrifying combination.

"Get you to some shade, got it." Ember said dragging his weak partner to some shade. Meanwhile Zane followed where Jaz had gone and stayed just outside of the doorway.

"Didn't you tell him first?" the young girl asked in disbelief.

"I thought I did." Ashean replied sheepishly.

"Well obviously you didn't! Hey he's coming back."

"Ashean, is it true?"

"Yes." Ashean replied, "What's wrong, do you hate smeets?"

"What? No! It's just that there's no way Irk would accept this. You know how much they hate the Akians, just because they are extremely beautiful and can fly. Can you imagine how they would feel if they found out one of their soldier not only proved that the Phunk are civilized, also have Akian attributes and are more technologically advanced? They would have a field day on your Empire! The only reason Phunk hasn't been taken by force is that they didn't see you as a threat and with your numbers so slim… Well let's just say if they knew about the half bred smeet it could start something I don't want you to deal with. Not that I'm not happy about it."

"Where are you going Sola?" Ashean asked.

"I think I owe Irk a visit." Sola said. A girl only a year younger than Zane stepped out. Her hair was the color of gold, while her eyes were the color of the sky. Her wings were fairly small and wispy, which shimmered in the sun like chains. She turned and saw Zane, her face darkened.

"You heard that, didn't you?" Zane nodded. "Please don't tell anyone, my sister and Jaz would be killed!"

"You are Phunk royalty."

"Yes I'm a princess. When Jaz came we were all so willing to have an ally we could depend on that we didn't really notice how close he had gotten to my sister until… you know. Anyway, with her pregnant she would be risking the smeet's life as well as her own. Here it's not really appreciated to risk the life of an naïve child, especially one who has no say in the matter. Don't worry if I win I'll get to choose who Phunk and the abyss serum will go to, so your chances are pretty high." Zane gave a false smile.

"That's nice to hear, but I think my… guards would be more interested." Sola nodded and ran off leaving Zane to her thoughts. Her goal seemed to be falling further and further out of reach. If Sola won than she would give the serum to Irk for her sister's sake, so Ember and herself would be out in the glory department. If she won, all of Irk would acknowledge her, but give Ember most of the praise because he was the leader. This was the last thing his ego needed and wouldn't give her revenge. Now it all rested on whether or not she could come up with a new plan for revenge before the competition began.

Irken Tent

Mika dropped his disguise spell, he was still wearing all the furs he had on Akia. He pulled layer upon layer of lavender and white furs and a white piece of cloth. His wings were let free, multiple feathers falling to the ground like rain. Mika sighed in relief; he laid flat on the cool sheets and stretched out his wings.

"Hey Mika? Are you in there?" Ember asked. Mika gasped and created a barrier at the tent's opening.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"The real Phunk representative is here to see us. What's wrong with the tent flap?"

"Nothing!" Mika shouted in a panic looking at his clothes with chagrin. "I'll be right out!" Mika sighed, so what if he was wandering around a foreign planet in his underwear, at least he would be more comfortable. He stuffed his old clothes in under the sheets and strapped his wings down once more. He was about to leave when he saw his reflection.

"Mika?" Ember asked.

"Hold on!" Mika called. He once again covered his long sleeves and thick boots with the illusion of an Irken negotiator. He opened the tent with ease.

"What took you so long?" Ember asked.

"I was… eating a sandwich."

"Were you now?" Ember said shaking his head, "Come on we have work to do." Mika followed Ember to where Sola and Zane were.

"Guards," Zane snapped, "this is the Phunk's representative. Begin with the familiarizing!" Zane went to the teleporter and back to the Massive.

"So… you're the representative." Ember said breaking the silence.

"Yeah!" Sola chirped, "Actually I'm glad my sister's going to have a smeet!"

"Oh?" Mika asked.

"Yeah she was never any good in combat and she's kind of ditzy. She's always running into things and can't wield a weapon to save her life. That's why I have all sorts of combat training and mechanical weapons." Sola said with a smile, as soon as she left Ember began to wail.

"Why! Why can't we fight Lady Ashean instead?"

"You want to fight a pregnant woman?" Mika asked in disbelief.

"She might have been a pregnant woman, but she would have been a harmless pregnant woman!"

"In short you wanted one less threat to worry about." Ember nodded, they went after Sola to the Massive.

"Who are we fighting any way?"

"Well there's Akia."

"I already knew that."

Neutral Territory, Planet: Iota

Gina paced the room extremely aggravated. "I don't think this is a good idea." Gina grumbled.

"Look if I didn't have to wear it I wouldn't. Unfortunately, uncle says that it's the only way they won't suspect that we're cheating." Zod chided.

"Oh that's a great idea! So how are you going to take a bath, sleep?"

"I'll just wear it all the time then. Besides how bad could it be?" Zod stepped into the room, he had on a striped tank top and military boots that kept his pants close to his legs. His skin was now green and his hair looked shorter compared to the lleku that stuck out of the top of his head. His eyes were now completely gold and each hand contained three fingers. Zod reached up and pulled at the center of his forehead. The disguise dissolved leaving the goggles that contained the artificial image in his hands. "See it's no big deal."

"Put that back on moron! Do you realize if you get caught we'll be out of the competition permanently? Never take those things off, NEVER."

"Fine, just don't get so worried."

"I have to be worried, because you will do something wrong, I just know it."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Zod sneered.

"No problem filth-dumpster." Gina walked out of the room as Zod put his disguise back on.

"I'll be glad when people stop hating me." He mumbled.

**(AN: There's more where this came from, so sit tight. Thank you to all those *cough*one* cough reviews you have sent me. It really encourages me to write and type up the chapters. They always make me smile. Thank you for your support)**


	7. Indroductions

Neutral Territory, Planet: Iota

The four representatives stood in a line on a well light arena. Tubes illuminated multiple colors on the steal floor. The center of the arena rose a lone figure stood on the cylindrical platform in front of the four champions.

"Welcome to the empires from across the galaxy! We will hold the competition here with your champions… in one week! Hey intergalactic space travel's a pain so before we hold a competition we will have a week to unwind and experience a variety of festivities. I'm sure most of you are exhausted so today will be devoted to relaxing. Remember this is neutral territory, anyone who violates the terms of the standing truce will be punished." The announcer grinned. "Now you may take this time to converse!" Sola snuck up behind Zod and Kail and wrapped her arms around them.

"Hi, I'm Sola from Phunk, who are you guys?" Sola grinned while the crowd began to mingle.

"Kail from Akia." Kail said warily.

"Demeter form Furon, don't touch me." Zod said removing Sola's arm.

"Oh, O.K! This is Zahara, she's from Irk." Sola beamed.

"No really?" Zod scoffed, " I thought she came out of a black hole."

"There's no need to be condescending." Zane said firmly, she got between Sola and Zod. "Nobody asked you to speak." She glared at him, something about his eyes didn't seem right. Maybe it was because they were gold.

"I bet you didn't ask to be short either, but sometimes things just are." He said blandly.

"I see that sly, confident smirk on your face! Well it won't work on me!"

"What is she going on about?" asked Kail, "Look Zahara, we don't need, nor want to deal with your diva attitude." Zane didn't know what a diva was, but she was sure that it wasn't something pleasant. She huffed, storming out of the arena to a main hall. The various empire's symbols hung on banners that were pinned to a wall. Several small tables and plush chairs sat along the walls with a hand full of book shelves and snack tables. Sola ran up behind her.

"Hey, why did you run off?" she asked.

"I can't stand the Furon representative, he's so rude! I will tear him down if he looks at me like that again!" Zane complained.

"Like what?"

"Like I shouldn't be there. He made no facial expressions, but his eyes reflected that 'you're a joke' attitude. At least that's what I got off of him, his eyes were just weird."

"Not as weird as the Akians, aren't they supposed to be fat and…"

"Unattractive?" Zane suggested. "I think Mika mentioned something about that. How it's really cold on Akian planets so they wear like thirteen layers of clothes."

"That has nothing to do with appearances." Sola responded.

"Jealousy." A voice answered. The young girls turned to see an Akian with waist length white hair and blue violet eyes. Another stood there with long violet hair and elbowed the other.

"Leave them alone!" She got down to eye level with the two, "He wasn't telling the whole truth."

"HE!" They said in unison.

"That's the reason. Don't worry, we don't take it personally." She cooed. "You both are so cute!"

"Beryl, come on!" The white haired Akian called.

"Coming!" She called.

Outside the Arena

"I don't understand any of this." Kail complained. "Aren't only the champions and advisors supposed to be here?"

"Didn't you leader explain it to you?" Zod asked.

"Saxon? No, all she said was that I had to fight."

"But your Akia's champion, their toughest fighter."

"I'll only agreed to fight because they said I'd get clearance from my 'crime'. People in Akia… Let's just say I don't fit in, I'm way more aggressive than the rest and they just couldn't accept it. Six years ago they said that they would forgive me for lashing out if I fought for them."

"You're not alone, my people hate me because I'm a pure blood. If I win, I'll be a hero and no one will hate me anymore."

"This whole system sucks."

"At least we have a final week. Think about it, in seven days the whole universe will change. That's why people are here. The whole party before the end of the world thing."

"How do you know this stuff?"

"You aren't the only one who spent six years training." The two looked at the stars, there wasn't another planet for light years. "Being in the middle of nowhere is really weird. I've never been on a completely metal planet."

"It's not completely metal, there's wood, cloth-"

"You get the idea don't you?"

"Yeah, Akia's planets are mostly covered in ice, it's the first time I've hadn't had to wear a jacket. Teenagers jump from their home planet to a different one in search of a warmer healthier planet so each one is like a no man's land. Needless to say they all are pretty much the same and the diesis is on every one."

"Wait what diesis?"

"I think it's called Endemic Hymoptysis, it's a terrible diesis and it killed our last leader. It mostly affects the lungs and lower intestines. I've seen someone who had it they could barely walk and had trouble breathing, if she talked too much she would start coughing up blood."

"Sounds terrible, so Akia is hoping that the Abyss serum can cure their own people."

"Yeah, that's basically it. Pretty shallow hunh? They're dead serious on winning, they even made me cut my hair. Apparently people would use it to their advantage in the previous war."

"When we fight, I don't think we should kill anybody."

"…agreed."


	8. Masquerade

Neutral Territory, Planet: Iota

There was a hustle and bustle of energy surrounding the great hall. Decorations were being hung on the white walls. An elaborate chandelier was being hung from the ceiling, it's crystal light danced on the polished floor. Mika observed the set up already dressed for the coming event. He wore a lavender and silver Victorian suit and a feathered masquerade mask. Ember walked up behind him.

"What's going on?" Ember asked.

"Can't you tell? We're setting up for the masquerade."

"I didn't know we did that."

"What do you mean? We're known for our extravagant dances. Anyway, I thought you would be happy." Mika remarked.

"Happy?" Ember asked, before realizing Mika was referring to his eye.

"For the masquerade you'll have to wear a mask. I don't know how fun it will be."

"Neither do I."

"It's kind of sad that other people know more about our culture than we do."

"That's because we have no culture anymore." Ember stated and walked off to get ready for the dance.

Zane's Room, Planet: Iota

One of the workers pulled on the coarse strings to tighten the corset.

"Tell me again why I have to wear this thing?" Zane asked as the worker pulled.

"The dress has three layers, in order to keep your thin appearance we use the corset." The hair dresser stated. The corset was secure and a sleeveless black dress went over the infernal garment and hung by her ankles. A few tiny gold flowers were worked into her curls while a black see through skirt went around her waist. As a final touch a large pink and gold curtain was set on her chest and hips. It was wrapped and stitched till it appeared like a sleeveless dress and the skirt was pulled back to show case the black under dresses. A black ribbon with gold flowers on the hip was fastened around her waist, the excess ruffled behind her in layers that sat on the back of the dress. Black strings and gold flowers decorated her chest and stomach in a zig zag pattern. She grabbed her mask and slipped on the gold and black silk heels.

"O.K. I'm ready." She set the mask on her face and walked down the thin hallway to the transformed ball room. Music glided along the walls, forms danced with ease. She went to Mika and Ember. "Now what?"

"Why don't you ask one of the representatives to dance with you?" Mika suggested, "You can show off how much you practiced and gain information. How about the Akian, he doesn't look busy." Mika was finally getting the hang of manipulating people.

"O.K." She said and walked across the floor. She made it halfway before she was intercepted by an Irken in blue.

"May I have this dance?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"Sure… I guess." She said warily. He grasped the small of her back. "I don't see why we have to go through all of this. I'd rather get the competition over with now."

"To teach people how to have fun." He said as they began to dance.

"Fun? How is waltzing fun?"

"You're very good at it. The trick is to not follow a formula." He changed direction suddenly. "That's what makes it fun." He became trickier with his movements. Zane had to admit the inner conflict of who would slow down first was fun.

"It seems you can't keep up." She snickered.

"You know, I like you better when you're not wearing a mask." He said in a serious tone.

"Well you in luck, I'm only wearing it for tonight." Zane stood in shock at the end of the dance, he had seen through her performance as Zahara. He gave her a small flower and disappeared. She walked to the balcony twirling the flower in her hand, it was made entirely out of crystal.

"Zim!" Sola asked pulling Zane out of her trance.

"What?"

"You have a Zim!" Sola said excitedly, "…a Zirconium flower, they're super rare."

"What's so important about a flower?" Ember asked, drawing attention to himself and Mika.

"It's pretty." Sola stated.

"Yeah so. There's a whole bunch of them on Irk. All they are is annoying little weeds."

"Just because something is small, doesn't mean it's not important." Mika muttered shaking his head, he walked off the balcony and Ember followed suit.

"Boys, they just don't get it." Sola sighed.

"Actually I don't get it either."

"Maybe it's cause they're hard to find in Phunk. The Zirconium flower or Zim for short is the symbol of undying love and devotion. I think it's because they can grow anywhere, even once they've been picked including the one in your hand. I bet if you set it down long enough it would grow, even on a table. Not only that, but they're simply gorgeous." She sighed, and turned. "Well I got to go, the dance is almost over." Zane stared at the flower.

"Zim… what a pretty name." She took the flower to her room and put it in a cup of polished crystals.

Main Hall, Planet: Iota

Mika walked the great hall, he needed a break from Ember. The 'mighty' soldier acted more like a smeet not getting his way. He noticed a familiar Akian sitting at a table.

"Beryl?" Mika asked, the Akian looked up.

"Mika?"

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to watch competition and… AND WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR HAIR!"

"I had to cut it for the mission."

"WHY!"

"Gee sis, I'm on a life threatening mission and your biggest concern is my hair?"

"Actually I wanted instructions on the washing machine. I don't know how to work it."

"I feel the love." Mika stated sarcastically.


	9. Phunk Games

Irken Chambers, Planet: Iota

Mika threw papers and books around the room. He couldn't find his clothes! Since they got back from Phunk they had been missing, even his under wear! He was O.K. at the ball when he had to wear a suit, but now he couldn't find anything other than his Irken uniform. It looked like he have to wear it, because there was no way he would walk around naked. Mika sighed; it looked like he was going to have to wear the illegal pants. It was a great effort, but he finally got the uniform on.

"I can't go out in public in this." Mika wailed at his reflection. The uniform gave him a feminine appearance, one he didn't appreciate.

"Mika what's taking so long?" Ember asked opening the door.

"No don't come in!" Mika shouted.

"Why? You're in your uniform." Ember stated, finally looking at Mika. "…you look different."

"I… This is my first time wearing the uniform." Mika mumbled, he knew he had been caught.

"You used a disguise device to wear more comfortable clothes?" Ember said with a smirk.

"Yes." Mika said meekly, was he saved?

"I can tell you wore flat boots, you're as tall as me now." Mika sighed; he was in the clear for now, but he couldn't let his guard down especially around Ember. "Come on, Phunk's event is about to begin." Ember snickered, though Mika's appearance was a little disconcerting, he pulled Mika along to the arena. What was once a blank canvas was now a dirt ground with two walls, on these walls were two hoops. They walked among the crowd. "Hey where's Zahara?"

"Over there." Mika pointed, they sat next to her.

"Mika," Zane ventured, "what is the point of this game?"

"You could've asked me." Ember said.

"…anyway, Mika?" Zane continued.

"You see I believe the point is to get the ball into the hoop."

"That's impossible, it's so high up!" Zane exclaimed.

"No kidding." Ember mumbled Zane gave him a quick glare before returning to the game. Two Phunk walked onto the court, they had hard shells attached to their backs. Sola walked onto the center.

"This is called a Portable Assessable kit or a PAK for short. A devise inside creates a small worm hole to a dimension that holds nothing. We use it to freely protect our wings from damage. It also puts us on equal ground, we will use these," Sola held up her arms, the extendable arms came out; they danced in the air like snakes. She made them lift her up and had two more extended from the cuffs on her legs. She lowered herself back down to the ground. "to move about the court. The first to score ten points wins! Let the games begin!"

Zane watched Ember more than the game. He kept laughing and hitting on the other girls there. It was making her ill. How could he be so happy, so oblivious after what he did to her? It wasn't fair at all.

"I got to go." She grumbled, storming out of the makeshift stadium to the balcony. The stars were a breath taking sight, when one wasn't angery. To Zane it was like the whole universe was glaring at her. She let out a stifled sigh, why was everything against her?

"I thought you couldn't get angrier, yet here you are." Zod lamented.

"So come to laugh at me some more?"

"No, I hate sports." Zod confessed.

"Oh…" Zane muttered, Zod took a seat next to her.

"Why are you competing?"

"For the glory of Irk!"

"No, why are you competing, couldn't you just send someone in your place?"

"..you won't leave me until I tell you."

"Nope!" Zod grinned.

"I want revenge against my red guard. He's a terrible person with a military status and ego that protects him from me. Then he had the nerve to say that I would never have my revenge! Well not this time, I trained and when I win I'll get all the glory! Then he'll see, oh what he'll see." Zane chuckled.

"Well it sounds like he'll always win."

"WHAT! HOW DARE YOU TAKE HIS SIDE!"

"I'm not, all I'm saying is that he's the reason you trained, so he'll be the reason you won. The best revenge would be to move on with your life and forget about the loser. Otherwise your whole life will be dedicated to someone you hate."

"Why do you care?" Zane snapped.

"I told you, I like you better when you're mask is off." Zod stood and left Zane alone to her thoughts.


	10. Furon's Performance

Furon Sleeping Quarters, Planet: Iota

"What do you think you're doing?" Gina ranted.

"Look we won't get anywhere ignoring common curtsy." Zod said calmly.

"So you fraternize with the enemy?"

"I was not fraternizing with the enemy, I was giving advice for her social problems."

"Do not deny what I know to be fact!"

"I'm not denying anything!"

"Another denial!" Gina sneered.

"I'm just saying that someone who is emotionally troubled is an easy opponent, but one who is confused has already been defeated, a tactical maneuver."

"You keep telling yourself that."

"I will, because it's the truth." Zod stated and Gina smirked.

"So telling her you like her is another tactical plan?"

"Yes-I mean no-I-WHAT!" Zod stammered blushing like mad.

"I knew it! You have been busted. I saw you at the ball; you gave her a Zirconium flower. A flower that doesn't grow on Furon, yet you miraculously find one just for her! What are you going to do next, give her the Abyss Serum?"

"No! You want the truth?"

"Obviously!"

"She has been upset lately… people always say that… when I was younger I thought I… I just wanted to see her smile, I don't know why."

"I will sort out your mess later, open house had started and I'm not even dressed. I'll see you later."

"O.K. I better find a seat."

Neutral Territory, Planet: Iota

Paper and cloth ornaments twisted in branch like patterns at the foot of the stage. Gold was bent elegantly in the shape of soft lilies and branch floors. Blue velvet pulled back to revile a carefully painted set of a screen door and a cherry tree. The audience sat apprehensively, what was Furon planning? A woman stepped out in an elaborate silk robe, ornaments hung from her hair.

"I am one of the most celebrated women in all of Furon, but a long time ago I had no name." The lights dimmed, and a young girl sat in center stage beginning the play.

"What's going on?" Ember and Zane whispered.

"It's a play, people act out a story." Mika replied quietly.

"Oh." They muttered. The little girl sat, she had been abandoned by her father who threatened to kill her if she ever showed her face. She passed out in the snow, when she awoke she remembered very little and was kind to any who helped her. She reminded Zane of who she used to be. The girl met people who helped her become as normal as one could without a home or family. The girl never found out who her family was, but instead of brooding about her past she decided what to do with her future.

"What are you going to do, shouldn't you find your family?" Gina's character asked.

"I admit the thought crossed my mind, however looked how far I've gotten. I wanted to keep moving forward."

"How?"

"You'll understand when you're older."

"I'm two years older than you, just tell me."

"I want to use my skills for other people. One day I hope to find someone who I can love and trust. After all if I dedicate my life to something, I want it to be to someone who will appreciate it." Zane watched as the girl fell in love with a poor man and the two of them worked until they were extremely wealthy. The woman's kind nature earned the respect of many people who gave her power and money amongst other things. The play ended with the girl stating that she could care less about fine things as long as the people around her were happy, she would always be happy to. Zane left the theater, the play and Zod's words rattled around in her head. What was she going to do? Obviously she couldn't win the competition. If she did that Ember would be praised as an excellent leader who trained the representative. If Sola won she would choose Irk, which would make Zane look incompetent and Ember would look like a master strategist. So Phunk defiantly couldn't win. Which left Akia and Furon, both were supposedly deadly enemies. Akia had been Irk's enemy for years, even before the civil war. Furon on the other hand was full of hybrids, all of which held a grudge against Irk. Both could do evil things to Irk, unfortunately in order to get revenge against Ember she would have to choose one. She would find the best at Akia's event, hopefully it wouldn't come down to a lesser of two evils.


	11. Bonfire

Bonfire, Planet: Iota

The stars sparkled in the sky, Akia waited for the coldest night for their event. A large amount of wood had been gathered so the now lit bonfire could burn all night. People sat eating warm treats and talking. Zane giggled at Zod's attempt to eat a melted sweet.

"What are you doing?" Zane snickered.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Zod said through a mouth full of food.

"It looks like you making a mess." Zane said grabbing a cloth, she whipped up the gooey mess from his face.

"Would it kill you to smile once in a while?" Zod asked.

"I… well…" Zane hid her face, what was wrong with her? "You… are… very annoying. Even slim mongers can eat without getting food all over themselves."

"There's that mask again." Zod sighed

"Lies!"

"Come on, let's go have some fun." Zane nodded shyly, once again she couldn't help but notice how strange his eyes were, they seemed so distant and unreal.

Balcony, Planet: Iota

Mika sat on the stairs to the roof and stared out at the bonfire that crackled in the night.

"What are you doing up here?" Ember asked.

"Hunh? Oh, just watching the festivities. I've always wanted to go to a bonfire."

"How did you know about it?"

"Uhh… my dad? My dad was stationed in Akia for a while, I think my mom's Akian too." Mika fibbed.

"That explains a lot."

"Really?" Mika asked nervously.

"Like your accent and your eye color. I'm surprised you got as far in your career as you have."

"I'm not incompetent, besides I'm surprised they let someone in whose blind in one eye." Mika grumped.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your eye dum-dum."Mika said pulling the patch off.

"No!" Ember shouted and shut his eyes tight.

"What are you doing?"

"…Nothing, give my eye patch back!"

"If you can catch it." Mika climbed the stairs up to the roof.

"Hey!" Ember reluctantly opened his eyes and followed Mika up the stairs. "Give it back!"

"Alright, alri- wow." Mika stared at Ember, the eye that was usually covered with an eye patch back from Mika. "Congratulations, you found out I'm half Phunk, if you tell anyone I will kill you." He tied the black strings.

"Why would I? Besides, there's a reason I wanted to get you up here."

"Oh really and what reason would that be?"

"Look out, it's an incredible view isn't it. Unfortunately something is missing."

"What?" Ember asked, Mika took his hand and guided it to a switch.

"Snow!" They both pulled on the switch, a hole in the roof of the building and ejected a cold white powder. "A bon fire is nothing without snow!" The white crystals feel onto the mass of people below. The large group gave a squeak of surprise at the air born weather and took it in stride.

Bonfire, Planet: Iota

Zane gazed up at the peculiar weather. Zod grabbed her hand and entwined a thin scarf with her hand.

"You look like you've never seen snow before Zahara." Zod smirked.

"I haven't, not that it's that amazing. What are you doing?"

"Showing you a good time." The two joined other pairs around the bonfire twirling the scarf and their partner this way and that.

"Are you insane, this is for couples, not enemies!"

"Could you lighten up for just one night?" Zod asked, Zane sighed.

"Fine." They danced a little while longer until Zod noticed something.

"Your hands are freezing cold, we need to get you inside."

"But you just said-"

"Inside." Zane reluctantly followed, she could never understand what exactly went through this boys head. The snuck into one of the guest rooms, a silly move but just the thought made Zane feel light on the inside. They closed the door behind them and Zod shoved Zane on the bed and smothered her in covers. "There feel any better?"

"Not with you sitting on me." Zane said through the comforter.

"So that's what I'm sitting on."

"Yes, me now get off." Zod pulled back the covers so Zane could see again. She sat up and looked at her supposed advisory, a shadow fell across the space between his eyes in an unnatural manner. She crept forward and pulled at the shadow. Zod yelped as his disguise left his face and fell into Zane's lap. She cocked head to the side examining the creature before her, his navy hair accented his naturally golden eyes much better than the holographic skin. "I think this is an improvement." Zane decided.

"Well that's fine and dandy for you, but I'm still the closest thing to a pure breed Irken in the whole empire."

"What about the rest of you?"

"Human, a creature completely weak and codependent on its own. If I don't win the competition, my empire will dry up. That's why we need the Phunk… you really think I look better without the disguise?"

"…I will not answer useless questions. You say you need to win yes?"

"Well ya-"

"Then you've found your key. The best way to save your empire, make Ember look like an idiot, and have me stay in control of my life is to make sure that we are the final two. Then all I have to do is throw the game while looking awesome."

"Is that even possible?"

"I am amazing aren't I?"

"You got yourself a plan."

**(AN: I love love love reviews filling up my inbox! We still have an event to go until the competition so hold on tight. I look forward to your thoughts and eager messages.) **


	12. Feast

Irken Chamber, Planet: Iota

"This is going to bet great!" Ember cheered from his seat on the couch.

"Oh?" Mika asked

"Yes a great banquet before the competition! There will be donuts, cookies, nacho-"

"Fish?"

"Eww, why would you want to eat that?"

"It makes you taller." Mika grinned.

"No way!" Mika chuckled, he wish he could enjoy himself more, but he was feeling a little dizzy.

Banquet Hall, Planet: Iota

The banquet hall was full of life, delicacies from around the universe, and fish, gleamed in the candle light. People sat in their chairs and filled their plates with food while chattering amongst themselves. Even Zane was enjoying the event and conversing with the other champions. Mika coughed roughly catching his companions' attention.

"Are you feeling alright?" Ember asked.

"Of… course… I'm fine…" Mika coughed into a napkin, he breathed deeply in an attempt to recover from the attack. He glanced at eh napkins' gory red contents and ran off. Zane turned to her acquaintances.

"I'm going to see if he's alright." She said, Ember got up as well and lead the small chase on Mika, unaware of Zane's presence.

"Mika what's wrong?" Ember asked grabbing Mika by the shoulder. A tinge of red still lingered on Mika's lips from the blood he coughed up earlier. "Your blood is… you are not Irken?" Ember stuttered in disbelief as Zane hid out of the other's view.

"No, I'm an Akian and now I fear I am ill." Mika sighed, he could tell what was going to happen and slowly unbound his wings. After all how could one bluff in this situation, they hadn't even eaten anything yet.

"How could you!" Ember cried.

"Ember all I did was what I was told. You would have done the same in my situation."

"You were going to destroy Irk!"

"That's what they wanted me to do, but I couldn't. I couldn't because it had been on the path of destruction before I ever came into the picture." Mika said dropping his disguise and taking another step towards the edge of the balcony.

"What do you mean?"

"Irk will fall, not because of the other Empires, no. You dug Irk's grave the moment you pushed little Zane off the Massive six years ago." Mika took another stepped and jumped from the balcony unfurling his wings for the first time in years. He flew off before Ember could tell a soul and he knew no one would believe him. Not when his crime was much greater.

Six Years Earlier

Furon Empire, The Massive

Ember sat on his seat, he hated being a simple servant especially to the Zahara. Unfortunately for him he had no choice. Hybrids never got the same opportunities as others and that was clearer than ever to him now. It was his job to watch Zahara Zanil and oh how he watched her. Watched her be oblivious of her surroundings, watched her clumsy walk, and watched her ego flourish and build. But most of all he watched her intelligence. It was so pitifully low, even for a mere smeet. How could someone so small and naïve ever run the empire, he was taller, stronger, better than this… this SMEET! So why wasn't he in charge? Wait he was taller, taller than anyone he knew. If he got rid of her, his whole life would change. He looked over to Zanil who was watching the stars gentle float by out the open door of the massive. She was making it too easy. He snuck up behind her and pushed her. Zanil screamed and held onto the floor of the Massive for dear life. She looked up meekly at the older Irken.

"Ember please help!" She squeaked, "I can't hold on much longer!"

"What an unfortunate accident," Ember said blankly as he stomped on one of her hands, "I turned around for one minute and you fell." He smashed the other and the young Irken began to fall with her tears. Ember watched as Zanil grew smaller until he couldn't see her form above the blue planet. "Zanil?" He called, putting on an act. "Zanil where did you go?" He began to run up and down the massive until he came to one of the soldiers. "Have you seen Zahara Zanil? I turned around and she ran off again, someone should glue her boots to the floor." It wasn't long before the captain theorized that she fell onto a Furon planet. They tracked the life signs of one of their own to a planet known as Earth. Ember volunteered to find her, claiming it was his responsibility. When Ember came he regrettably found that she was alive, well and happy. Ember had to wait unitl she was alone to take her back. He brought her back while she was knocked out. When she awoke he spun a tall tale of how she was a servant like him named Zane and that when she fell he begged the captian to let him help her. Once she fell tough she couldn't remember a thing. Luckily he had gotten her back to the ship in time, before the natives came. He had also told the captain that the life signed were from the short hair girl and not Zahara. The Zahara was killed by the fall out of the massive. It wasn't long after that, that they had Ember train to become the next leader of Irk.

**(AN: ...Only nine people are reading this story. No matter, I will continue it. After all don't you hate a story that doesn't get finished.)**


	13. The Competiton Begins

Arena, Planet: Iota

Zane breathed in deeply, only her advisor and those of her enemy were there. Mika however was nowhere to be found. Everyone else was stuck outside and forced to wait to hear the results. Zane wore a pink summer dress, a black rope held the dress close to her hips and shortened its length for easy movement. She grasped her laser, she wasn't well trained in weapons, Mika was mostly concerned with how people would react to her behavior. After all if they found out she wasn't really Zahara, they would call foul. Not only that, but she had to lose the battle and not get killed in the process. The door opened and she stepped out into the arena, Kail stood before her a handful of throwing knives, a smirk crossed his features. Zane raised her laser, closed her eyes, and shot quickly several times. None of them should have hit their target, but Kail tripped and fell right into the many blasts. He fell, some of his clothes had been smoldered and he lay completely still.

"Akia has lost." The announcer droned Saxon calmly left the arena; she had business to take care of, after all Mika had vanished and Irk was moving on to the final round. Ember left as well extremely smug, soon all would recognize Irk as the superior race. Zane ran over to Kail once everyone left.

"Why did you do that?" Zane shouted in the empty arena.

"I don't know what you mean." Kail said getting up.

"I was aiming for left, you jumped into my shots!"

"Be happy that I compensated for your horrible aim."

"But why?"

"Your advisor, Ember, offered me a better life on Irk if I lost. To them I'll be a hero." Kail walked out of the arena and was followed by Zane. It was almost time for Zod to fight. Zane ran off down the hall to find Zod. She needed an answer to her resent problem. She ran up to the disguised human.

"Zod?" Zane asked, the boy stopped and turned.

"…how did you know my name?"

"So you really do exist… and all this time I thought it was just a dream."

Six Years Ago

Furon Empire, Planet Earth

Zod ran through the forest, he was not going to get another lashing for dropping a bucket. It was utterly ridiculous what he had to go through, the son of a crazed man, some reputation. It wasn't his fault his father believed in nymphs and fairies. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the sky, what was his mother like anyway? Something shown in the sky, it grew larger and brighter as it parted the clouds. It was headed straight for him, Zod stepped aside and the object fell hitting the ground like a rag doll. Zod took a step forward a girl lay limp in the grass, she was green and had antenna, her hair as black as night. Just like the nymphs his father talked about, this couldn't be happening. He shook her gently, her magenta eyes opened slowly.

"There he is!" A human called, Zod was cornered. "You're coming with us fairy boy." The adult noticed her, "And a fae-"

"Don't touch her!" Zod shouted, the man was taken aback but chuckled.

"Whatever you want kid, but she's coming with us." Zod nodded and was surprised when she ended up living with him. She remembered her name, Irk, and that she fell. Other than that she followed Zod and he began to treat her like a princess.

"Zanil, meet me in the forest I have something for you." Zod instructed, Zane nodded and sat on a rock. It was then that Ember knocked her out and brought her back.

"Where am I?" Zane asked.

"Your on the massive, you fell out of the ship, I saved you Zane."

"What about Zod?"

"Who? Look maybe you were dreaming. That happens sometimes."

Present Day

Neutral Territory, Planet: Iota

"At the time I thought that it was all a weird dream, but I found out that once again someone I had once trusted lied to me." Zane confessed.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, but I honestly don't remember meeting another Irken before the competition." The signal rang, "I have to go fight now." Zod walked away leaving Zane behind and distressed.

"…Good luck." Zane whispered.

Arena, Planet Iota:

Zod prepared to fight, he ahd been practicing for years because of this. He watched Sola walk into the arena looking cute and innocent. Still Zod had to fight her. Zod threw a ball of energy at Sola's legs. He really didn't want to hurt her, but he didn't have a choice. Sola yelped and lay sobbing on the ground, Zod rushed over.

"Are you-"

"Sorry Demeter," Sola said and used her metallic arms and pinned him to the ground, "but I need to win."

"Furon loses." Came the announcer's voice. Sola disengaged her robotic arms.

"I really am sorry." She sighed.

**AN: I've got a new poll up, I would appreciate it if all of you who are reading this to vote on the poll.**


	14. The End is Near

Hallway, Planet; Iota

Zane stood frozen to the spot she would have to fight Sola, if Sola won then Irk would win. She heard muttered voices down the hall ahead of her.

"Once Irk gets the abyss serum we'll start the attack."

"Sir, this soon?"

"Yes, they're traitors, Akia sent in a spy and we don't know what he really looks like."

"But Ember, must we attack Furon as well?"

"They have always been a pain in outside, the sooner we get rid of them the better." Zane held in a gasp, they were going to attack everyone once they won and who knows what they would do to the Phunk. The announcer called her to the arena, she couldn't warn anybody at the moment, only win and pray that she didn't have to.

Arena, Planet; Iota

Zane gripped her laser tightly, she couldn't get their hands on the Abyss serum or Furon and Akia would be doomed! The gate opened and Zane entered the arena , she stared down at her enemy who was equipped with her metallic arms. Sola grinned, oblivious of her opponent's intent.

"We did it Zahara!" She grinned.

"We didn't do anything; I was supposed to fight Demeter!"

"I know you had a score to settle with him, but that can't that wait?"

"You don't understand everything's ruined now!"

"What are you talking about?"

"But I'll fix it, I'll fix everything! Then, then he won't win." The two advisors were taken aback, who on Iota was she talking about? Zane sped forward shooting her gun at Sola.

"Zahara, what are you doing? We're allies!" Zane pinned her down and aimed.

"No, we have always been enemies. When the clock stops I will prevail." And just as she said, Phunk lost.

"You did it Zahara, you won." Sola whispered, Zane came to her senses as the abyss serum lowered into her hands.

"No, I couldn't I-"

"Irk has won." The announcer drawled.

"I won!" Zane sobbed, she ran off in despair. She had to warn Zod. "Zod!" She called,

"Zahara what are you-"

"You have to get out of here! Irk plans to take control, Akia's in danger too, warn everyone and save as many people as you can. Here take this," Zane said and closed his hand around the glass. "Irk can never get their hands on this." Zod nodded and ran. Zane turned to see two guards standing in front of her.

"Zahara-" the guards started

"We're heading back to Irk now."

"Actually we've been instructed to take you to Tallest Ember. It concerns the abyss serum."

The Massive, Planet; Iota

Zane was escorted to the ship's deck where Ember was sitting in a large comfortable chair.

"Hello Zahara, I must congratulate you on a job well done. Now that Irk has won it will be a synch to be the only Empire. All I need you to do is hand it over and your duties as Zahara will be over." Ember extended a clawed hand.

"I can't." Zane said sharply.

"What do you mean you can't?"

"I don't have it, the rules said that I could do what I wished with it. Seeing as it's gone I will step down as promised."

"What did you do with it!" Ember snarled.

"I sent it away."

"Why! You were there to serve your Empire!"

"No, I was there to serve me, not the Empire and definitely not you. You are an idiot and a monster, while you run the Empire into the ground I will be happily protected by the law."

"Which planet is it headed to!" Ember growled.

"HA! Like I'd tell you! You will never get your hands on it, even if you search the entire universe. Good day ember, I don't expect to see you again anytime soon." Zane bowed and left the main deck. Her revenge was complete, Ember was furious while she was unscathed. Yet it wasn't satisfying, the whole time she was worried about Zod and how he was.


	15. Techno Irk

Furon Empire, Planet; Earth

Zod looked out the window; it had been so long since he'd seen Earth. The green grasses, blue skies, it almost made him forget everything that They're not your happened during the competition… almost. Ashean quietly walked up behind him and gently laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Why?" She said, her voice callous and bitter, "Why am I here."

"Jaz got you on board for a reason." Zod mumbled.

"I should be with my people-"

"They're not your people anymore, don't you understand! Jaz knew that Irk was going to attack everyone so he sent you with us. Your child, Axis, will live here but he'll live safe. The best we can do is blend in with the people here." Zod looked up at Ashean, they had to cut her wings off in order for her to blend in, she was now pale, her once luxurious hair was now tied back in a tight knot.

"By teaching smeets?"

"Not exactly, but we needed a good cover for you." He watched as Ashean sullenly nodded and sighed. He understood what she was going through. His cousin had been killed in the desperate escape from Iota. "I'm sorry."

"Saying your sorry won't change the fact that something horrible happened." Ashean spat, she probably would never learn to deal with the sorrow of being separated from her small empire and sister. "I have to go now, I can't stay in the sun much longer." Zod looked back out at the planet; his uncle was making him get married to carry on Furon's legacy. He just hoped that he had enough life in him to love his daughter Amalthia.

5 years later

Akian Empire, Planet; Brod

"How dare you!" Saxon shrieked as her helpers scrambled to help her, "Servants please leave." She purred, then resumed her rant once they left. "After what they did to us at the competition! Your brother-"

"My brother had nothing to do with this." Beryl pleaded in Saxon's chamber, "I don't know what he did, but I know this is a different situation."

"You both fraternized an enemy, an enemy that tried to kill us, that's why we banished him."

"My child did not! I refuse to let my smeet suffer for what you consider a mistake. I am as loyal to my empire as ever-"

"Your 'child' will be nothing but a hideous half breed tainted with Irken blood, not only that, but Irk has the Abyss serum! Now we'll never be able to-" Saxon broke down in an increasingly severe coughing fit.

"Y-You're ill!"

"I'm~perfe~perfectly fine." Saxon attempted, coughing more into a tissue.

"…Since I was ~fourteen."

"That long!"

"Hey! ~ I'm only eighty~ that's still~ very young. Don't start thinking you'll get off easy just because I'm ill. I'm sure it won't take much to miscarry-"

"I told you I'm keeping him."

"STOP~BEING ~STUBORN~ ABOUT THIS~!" Saxon fell to the ground.

"Saxon!" Beryl rushed to the aid of her leader who now had blood spattering on the floor. Servants rushed in and saw their leader on the ground. "She just collapsed while we were talking- Please get her to a doctor" They picked up the convulsing dictator and exited the room. "I'm sorry Saxon, but I'm keeping Purple."

Irken Empire, Planet: Konz

"Yet another great advancement has come from the Almighty Tallest." The news reel said on the glass screens.

"Mommy look!" Cried a young Irken, she bounded off and pointed at the screen. "It's the magic man."

"Without our Tallest we wouldn't have the P.A.K. A gift from our glorious leader." The screen continued, the child's mother scoffed.

"Don't listen to him, the P.A.K.s were made by the Phunk." Zane told her daughter, she sighed. Once they had gotten back from the competition Phunk was forced into slavery, even her friend Sola. Ember took their design and turned it into a mandatory monitoring device disguised as a helper. Every child was required to be equipped with one, including her child. Jaz had been killed saving Ashean from what the rest of Phunk was forced to do.

"He has also perfected our species." The announcer continued. Zane bought into it, her son Red was one of the 'newer' children. It was bizarre to see a hairless Irken, but it would be worth it in the end. She had seen Kail with one of the smeets, he was living in the lap of luxury while she hid from the empire on a back water planet. She huffed and grabbed the little girl's hand.

"Come on Del, we don't want dinner to get cold." Zane walked away leaving the screen talking to no one.

"The Tallest has issues a new decree." The screen flickered to Ember. "Citizens of Irk, it is time to take what is rightfully ours! P.A.K.s are being upgraded with weapons so we can prove that we are superior. As of now we will launch Operation Universal Invasion. We will not stop until every planer is ours!" The screen turned off and reflected the face of the lone person watching.

"Ember," Mika sighed, "what have you done?"

60 years later

Irken Empire, The Massive

Ember sat in his chair, times had certainly affected the Irken. After fifty years Ember put more effort into finding the Zahara. The days of the four Empires seemed like a distant dream Akia and Phunk were now a part of Irk and Furon was forgotten and invading planets was now the norm. Ember still desperately wanted to know where the serum was, but even more he wanted to know why.

"We have her sir, we found Zahara." A guard informed.

"Bring her in" Ember ordered gently, the guards drug in the dark haired Irken. "Do you know why you are here?"

"Cause I didn't buy a P.O. box?"

"No, you are here to answer for your crimes." Zane smirked at the comment.

"Not much good to do that now, 65 years is a long time. The person I gave it to could have died by now."

"But why did you do it?" Ember sighed.

"Why? You mean you still don't get it? I hate you Emberous! I hate you with every fiber in my being!"

"Emberous, how did you know my- Zane?"

"It took you long enough."

"Well," Ember growled, "you succeeded in your revenge. I'm old, decrepit, and I still don't know where to look to find the serum." Ember's eyes widened as she grabbed a knife and plunged it deep within her spooch.

"You never will." The guards scrambled as they carried out the bleeding body. Ember sighed and shook his head.

"This whole time it was her, and nobody knew."

"I knew." A familiar voice responded.

"…Mika?" Ember called, Mika stepped out of the shadows and smiled, he looked like only a year had passed by. "I thought you went back to Akia! You haven't changed a bit."

"Thank you, but no, I never can go back. Akia blames me for Irk's victory and the fact you conquered them. They banished me, so I hid here in my second home."

"I never thought I'd see you again."

"I know."

"I was always so rash and ridiculous… I could have used your help."

"You would have shot me on sight." Mika said.

"Probably," Ember sighed, "I just wish I could have done things differently." Ember let out one last sigh and sat down, Mika looked down with sad eyes.

"Don't we all." He pressed a button informing the guards that Ember had passed. He took one last look at his old friend and slunk back into the shadows where he would watch over Irk for generations.

**AN: That's the end, hope you liked it. If you haven't read Secret Rune then please do. This is sort of the Abyss Serum's explanation, so the rest of that story will make more sense. Thank you for reading to the end and I hope you vote on my poll that will let you the readers of Fanfic to chose which story I post next. Thank you once again and please check out my other works.**

**Inspiration for this piece: Avatar the Last Air bender, Tarzan, Skip Beat, Bollywood songs, and of course Invader Zim. **


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